


Westward Journey - A Cyberfei Story

by Cyberfei, Overseer Khasta (Cyberfei)



Category: Cyberfei - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Canon LGBTQ Character, Canon Non-Binary Character, Canon Trans Character, Community Project, Cyberpunk, Elf Culture & Customs, Elves, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fantasy, Gen, Hero's Journey, Hope, Hope vs. Despair, No Romance, Open Universe, POV Nonbinary Character, POV Nonhuman, Solarpunk, Trans Female Character, Urban Fantasy, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25268260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberfei/pseuds/Cyberfei, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberfei/pseuds/Overseer%20Khasta
Summary: Ondela nii del Ora is one of the Dark Elves living underneath Beijing. For as long as they can remember, the Dark Elves have been secretive and disinterested in the surface world -- but Ondela knows better. They have seen the aftermath of the Uprising that changed the world as they know it. They have seen the friendships and fighting between humans and elves.They need to see it all. They need to know more; to help their kin on the surface.They need to go further than any Dark Elf has travelled before.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Eighteen years ago, broadcasts were released to the human population by a group of people claiming to be High Elves of legend. https://youtu.be/H3ngRlzpbmY
> 
> The broadcasts sparked controversy and, in some places, war. Technology fused with magic began to form, organisations for and against the Fae arose, and life on Earth was changed completely. 
> 
> Join the Uprising. Forge your path. Shape the fate of the world as we no longer know it.  
> https://discord.gg/98dJ54a

It was dark down here. Not that it mattered a damn bit to Ondela nii del Ora, for it was  _ always  _ dark down here. Black, slanted eyes scanned effortlessly through the dim light, past stone walls and painted doors, through old, damp corridors and towards the 'dead end' outside the meetings hall. A pearly white hand reached to feel along the stone; searching, searching...  _ there.  _ Ondela pressed their fingertips gently to the buzzing patch of stone, muttering a simple incantation to activate it, and the bright blue tattoos that adorned their face danced tiny circles around themselves as the  _ Thin,  _ or 'Dark Elf', grinned widely at the sight of the wall crumbling to dust, revealing an old human-built staircase to the surface.

They took the stairs in twos, the sound of rock reforming following them as they headed toward the bright neon light at the top --  _ Beijing. _

Things had changed up here since the Uprising, and Dee  _ loved  _ it. They just vaguely remembered the old city from when they were a child, so normal and human-y and bright, but now? Now it was a bustling epicentre for all things magic-tech, boasting some of the most advanced technology in the world, and it showed. Ondela had seen some of the pre-Uprising movies, and the city was straight out of them, with neon lights and augmented humans and elves with so many gadgets they might as well be part-machine. The noise and bustle up here was overwhelming, and Ondela  _ lived  _ for it. Blinking, eyes watering in the bright lights of the upperworld, Dee gently unclipped the glasses case from the belt around their waist, retrieving from it the crude makeshift sunglasses they'd made (much to the chagrin of their mother). Slipping them on was enough to balance out the glare of the neon lights around them, and with a gentle tap of the left arm, they were shifting and molding their shade to anything they looked at. It wasn't perfect by any means, and a little glitchy, but Ondela was proud of their little handmade gadgets nonetheless.

Beaming at the sight of magic-tech adverts and the smell of fresh-made snacks from the market nearby, they strolled confidently through the blossom-littered concrete streets, giggling as a few petals brushed their face from the garden displays on the roofs and balconies above. It was the perfect mix of natural and artificial: neon fairies dancing and glowing around the stores while bark-skinned dryads tended the branches high above, framing the hovering personal vehicles overhead -- mostly two-people carriages and skateboards. Dee waved a welcome to a few as they passed, darting as they always did to the Scrapper stall tucked away around a quiet corner.

"Dee! Finally got away from your mama?" Jin Lijuan, the Scrapper who was  _ always  _ here,  _ every  _ day,  _ without  _ fail, was warm in her welcome. Her clothes were absolutely  _ littered  _ with bits of interesting scrap: cloth flowers from old clothes, pieces of circuit board and handmade brooches made of bits of car -- she was one of the most accomplished Scrappers in the city. Ondela was pretty sure she may have been the  _ only  _ Scrapper in the city, considering there wasn't too much in the way of scrap around here.

"Eugh, don't talk to me about  _ mahni _ ," they hummed, their Chinese as lilted and foreign as it was fluent -- that was, up until the 'me' part. It was always difficult to remember to speak of themself singularly, when back home it was so important to speak with their God constantly embodied within them. "What you got today?"

"Found this one in Hong Kong a few months ago," she said, hefting a bag from under her makeshift table and rummaging through it to pull out a mess of wires and circuitry, "looks like it used to be a lamp of some sort that's been stripped for metal, but there's enough wiring here to get it working again, maybe more -- I was thinking of making hair accessories out of it. Or maybe I could cross-wire it with some old phone pieces and make a kind of metal detector that finds and highlights discarded magic-tech. I don't know. You need tech right? You want it?"

It was more of a ramble and a side thought than a sales pitch, but Dee was used to that -- Li was only looking to make some extra credits to fuel her Scrapping hobby, not to become the next big thing in the tech industry. Travelling in and out of the city to collect pieces and meet with other Scrappers was a costly habit, Dee was sure. Eyeing the teen's find, they hummed in thought. There wasn't anything off the top of their head that they would need that for, just yet, but they made a point to always buy  _ something  _ from them with what few credits they managed to get hold of, and today was no exception. "How much?"

"For you? Half price. Four credits."

Four credits. Dee chewed their lip, unhooking a piece of wire from one arm of their sunglasses and offering it to Lijuan. "I  _ think  _ I managed to get enough." Siphoning from the government was a slow, painful process when all you had to do it was an old PC, limited tech knowledge and about fifteen old bits of scrap you'd bought with said siphoned money.

Li gave a knowing smile, plugging the wire into a small device she had on her wrist and watching it for a moment, "You have five! And now... one." Handing the wire back, she flashed a wink and handed over the scrap. "You know how to find me if you need help setting up something better to get your money with."

"You know my family would never let a human in. But thanks!"

Wrapping the cables loosely over their shoulders, they offered Lijuan a wave and made their way onward.

The next stop, as always, was the planning exhibition hall. Not because Ondela particularly cared about the government's plans for the city, but because there was  _ always  _ protesting and it was  _ always  _ fun to watch go down.

Today's protests were the kind Dee knew they'd get involved in, were they not trying to be somewhat low-profile. Apparently the human Chinese government were planning on dedicating a part of the city to the elven population. Which sounded  _ great _ , until they took into account the lower position elves already held. And the sheer numbers of elven populace. And how many different kinds of elves there were in the city. And the fact that all the 'useful' fae were still going to be allowed to roam and live freely -- dryads who could keep the flora under control, fairies who kept the electrics running, etcetera.

So naturally, people were mad. On both sides of the argument. And this--  _ this  _ was what Ondela came to the surface to see. The conflict, the dilemmas, the politics... Being  _ Thin  _ in the city was isolating. The Dark Elves were never really interested in the lives of those on the upperworld, and it was no different before or after the Uprising.

Dee was only a child when it happened. They remembered the city's ambassadors leaving in the dead of night to travel west, knowing they were going to take their seats at the Elven Council for something  _ big.  _ They remembered asking their mother about it, only to be met with hushing and  _ "Do not be curious, child. This is a matter for the officials.".  _ And then they remembered nothing else happening, for months into years, until news from the surface began to leak through the more fascinated youngsters, and the children of the priesthood. Wars and conflicts. Political rivalry and elven-human alliances. Ondela understood little of it at the time, but they knew something big was changing on the upperworld.

That was when they started sneaking out.

Lijuan was the first person to notice how out of place they were. She was only young then, barely a teenager, but she spoke like an adult and held herself like an adult, and taught Ondela all about the Uprising. How the High Elves all over the world had demanded seats among the world's highest powers. How some had fought back and war had broken out. How China had forged an alliance, but still managed to keep control of the populace in such a way that the only real thing that had changed was that fae were openly part of that populace now. How the citizens of Hong Kong had tried to fight for the Elves' freedom, and left themselves a war-torn city just barely able to hold its bustling human-fae alliance. Ondela was  _ fascinated.  _ Back home was always the same. The most that happened was some third-born daughter of the Priest trying to fake a Vision so they could take over the faith-of-the-years.  _ Thin  _ were sheltered, protective, and entirely disinterested in the upperworld.

"You! Garbage-demon!"  _ Whoops.  _ Ondela winced as the insult was thrown their way, snapped out of their thoughtful trance as a member of the crowd of protesters noticed the elf standing just a little too close to the  _ 'Elves get out'  _ side of this particular argument. "Come out of Hell to play with the humans! You are not welcome in China!"

"He has just as much place in China as you do!" A member of the opposition yelled back, still woefully lacking in neuter pronouns that weren't 'it', but Dee had to smile at the effort.

"It takes our homes and our resources and leads our families to misfortune and poverty!"

"Yeah! My brother tried to elope with an elf and now he lies in the streets with it!"

"That's your brother's fault for not planning!"

Etcetera, etcetera. Ondela wished they had popcorn. And a large, metal shield just in case something got thrown. Fortunately, the whole thing turned into in-fighting within seconds, and then actual fistfighting within minutes. Then it was only a matter of time before the police showed up with their rubber bullets and water guns -- they'd seen this so many times that it was starting to get predictable. But at least it was  _ something. _

With the grim realisation that their brief window of freedom would be over sooner than later, they tottered to the nearest store to stare innocently at the news bulletin outside and definitely  _ not  _ discreetly hook their glasses up to it and definitely  _ not  _ use their glasses to siphon the news into the same small data pocket they held their credits in. Definitely not.

Then it was just a case of getting home. Which was quick, easy, and usually involved being stopped halfway down the staircase by-

_ "Ondela nii del Ora, where have you been?" _

Yup.  _ Mahni.  _ Here goes nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

"The  _ upperworld!" _

"Yes,  _ Mahni _ ."

"For the third time this  _ month!" _

"Yes,  _ Mahni _ ."

"You know how dangerous it is up there for our kind, and you continue to defy us."

"I'm sorry,  _ Mahni _ ."

"You know what this means."

"One week taking civil work and two days helping the High Priestess in her duties," Ondela recited with a sigh, trying to sound as disappointed about that as they were supposed to -- civil work was  _ easy,  _ and High Priestess Ildemin was the most fun they could ever get down here.

"Yes. Starting now. Give us that junk, we'll see it destroyed."

Dee handed over the lights with a short eye-roll, knowing full well they'd just dig it out of the burner later, and saving a moment to be glad they remembered to pack away their sunglasses this time -- making sure those got back to them in one piece and fully functional was always a nightmare. With a respectful nod of their head, they took hold of the nearest broom and left to get started manually sweeping the public halls.

The  _ Thin  _ of Beijing were lucky, and Ondela knew this, always fascinated by the human-built structures down here. Apparently this place was once a human bunker, built in case of nuclear war -- and as such, it was pretty much a functional town by the time their people arrived here years before the Uprising. Their ancestors were forced to build their own towns, trying to dig their tunnels and homes without the humans noticing -- something that was easy enough with their magical ability, but tiring as all hell. It was way easier to find pre-built places like this and set up in them, put some wards up to stop the humans coming in: easy.

Pity about the architecture of course, but there was nothing the  _ Thin  _ couldn't make their own with a few religious symbols and draping bits of fabric all over. The faith-of-the-years for the past few years was of Mahsa, the Lady of the Eternal Dark That Blankets All, which was just a dramatic way of saying "the Goddess of it's dark and that's cool". High Priestess Ildemin nii del Mahsa was in charge, and that meant the decor had to reflect that. Dim, black candles sat in tinted lanterns along the walls, barely lighting the place but giving more of a glow to the blackness. Drapes of blue and silver silk hung over the entrances to each tunnel, glittering just barely in the scarce light. Prayers for bountiful scavenge were scrawled on the walls of some of the commoner's homes, and as they traveled toward the tunnels that housed the ambassadors and priests of their city, there were sigils of power drawn in glowing blue-green magic on the stone, all leading to the most lavishly decorated area of all; the Temple.

Ildemin was appointed through "holy vision". She'd been blessed with dreams of the future, given by her patron Goddess, and was able to prove it, thus was appointed the High Priestess. Ondela wasn't one to question the Gods, and this was no different; Ilde was a good friend, and an even better Priestess. Her message was one of hope and protection, and the people took that seriously, leaving offerings of coin and precious stones along the walkways leading up to it, or pinning stories of their families and ancestors to the walls as 'proof' the Priestess was doing Mahsa's work. Dee smiled at the little offerings as they swept around them, gently making sure not to disturb them nor the thin layer of dust over them all. The  _ only  _ time the offerings should be removed was when the Prophecies for the years-ahead changed and a new Priestess took the helm. Any other time was sacrilege unless asked by the High Priestess herself.

"Been to the upperworld again?"

Speaking of the High Priestess herself... Dee's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, their entire body practically doubling over in their effort to bow in greeting. "Our Lady! W-we-.."

"Enough with the formalities, Ondela. You know we hate it. Come, let's go inside away from prying eyes~"

Glancing around to make sure nobody was actually watching, Ondela nodded and followed her into the Temple. Resting down their broom against a wall when they were prompted, they were led into Ildemin's personal chamber; the office-space Dee knew only priesthood and friends were allowed into. The room was a far-throw away from the rest of the Temple -- where the rest was decorated lavishly and laid out for guests and ceremony, this room was covered with personal effects and soft toys; childish little things Dee knew the ambassadors would never approve of. There were bits of sugarcane-paper strewn about the place, some scrawled on and some screwed up and thrown away; and piles of old books and printing from before the Uprising. The whole room was thrumming with soothing, thoughtful energy and smelled of knowledge. Dee loved being invited here.

"So," Ildemin hummed, her  _ Dili _ - _ Sinithin,  _ or Eastern Dark Elvish, rolling and swimming with every word out of her mouth. Her accent was always unique, given by her northborn mother, and Ondela like everyone else couldn't help but hang on to every word she spoke. "What trouble are you in now? Tell us  _ everything." _

Ondela hesitated for a moment, staring directly into the pure silver-white eyes of their Priestess. Those eyes that were blind like many down here, but seemed to see  _ through  _ all she gazed at. And then they grinned. "So. They're making elf slums! And people are fighting about it!"

"The usual, then," Ildemin laughed, "did you join in?"

"You know we can't, Ilde."

"And yet you should."

"We'll be sure to tell  _ mahni  _ that later. 'The High Priestess says we should be up there, protesting with the humans and blowing our cover'."

"Our cover was blown the moment the High Elves broke it," she hummed, sitting casually on the edge of her desk as her eyes sightlessly searched for something. "Our wards will do their jobs. You should be able to do what you like, upperworld or no."

"We've been through this. We know you're Northern but it's hardly something we can just Go and Do without half of town raining their disapproval on us. It's bad enough we keep bringing tech home when the elders are  _ perfectly fine  _ with our magic and metalwork. We have so many chances to live better and we just-.. stopped moving forward while the rest of our people did."

"You know why that is."

"The Elven Council, we know." Ondela heaved an extra-heavy, extra-exhausted sigh at that. "We have our place in the grand picture, and 'those who insist on living in the dark must exist in its ignorance'."

"Don't forget 'Old Lady nii del Fire-Eating-Scum from hundreds of years ago did one bad thing and now your people are Cursed'~" Ildemin joked dryly, "Point is, the High Elves have their beliefs about us. And so we're stuck here, living from scavenge and dust and having the barest say in anything the Council decides. Do you think that's fair?"

"Of course we don't. But what are we supposed to do about it?"

"Perhaps nothing, as a whole. But if there is anything the Lady of Night knows for certain, it is that we all have our part to play. Each of us is a part of a bigger whole. The smallest revolution can have the greatest of consequences. Perhaps your little excursions to the surface will have a greater impact than we can forsee."

She let that sink in for a moment, then pat the desk beside her to break Dee out of their thoughtful trance, chuckling as they jumped and shook their head, startled. "Come. We can get you started on your work with us, assuming your  _ mahni _ ordered it?"

Ondela breathed a sigh of relief, nodding gently and making their way out to the gathering hall, already knowing the drill -- clean the benches, tidy the altars, prepare the next ritual, pick the Priestess' dress.

They were very,  _ very  _ glad their mother didn't know how fun this was for them.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dee! Pass the duster! There's a  _ big  _ spiderweb up here."

Of course they weren't the only one here. Ondela grinned as they glanced back, throwing the cloth in their hand without hesitation to the figure poking her head around the door to the cleansing rooms. "When were you gonna tell us you're in trouble too, Ninia?"

Ninia nii del Ahla, whose facial tattoos looked almost like a moustache and whose eyebrow piercings made her look perpetually angry, grinned wolfishly as she snatched the cloth from the air. "Right now, stupid! The whole gang's here~"

On cue, three other young  _ Thin  _ poked their heads into the hall -- Jan, Hani and Lathia, following in Ninia's footsteps as she tottered over to give Dee a welcoming hug. "What was it this time? Sneak out to the upperworld again?"

"You know we did, Nin~" they laughed, pressing a welcoming hand to each of the other, younger kids' foreheads in turn, at which they beamed and dipped their heads in mutual greeting. "What about you lot?"

"Sneaking medicine from the Ambassadors," Ninia hummed proudly.

"Scaring humans through the upperworld walls~" Jan and Hani said in unison, the two's identical grey eyes shining directly at Dee's mouth -- following the sounds of their speaking.

"Shouted at  _ rahni _ ," Lathia finished, shrugging as their sightless black eyes blinked at nothing in particular, "Three times. In three hours."

"Let me guess, because they told you..." Ondela mused, allowing the others to join in with them, " _ Don't be curious!" _

"Get back to work, trouble!" Ildemin's voice carried amused from her office, still listening for problems with them all despite trusting them to get on with their work nonetheless.

"What's the news, anyway?" Ninia wondered, waving the other three back to the cleansing rooms as she decided to stick with Dee for a while, dusting and polishing the pews as they talked. "In the upperworld?"

"They're converting part of the city into a home for elfkind," Dee hummed.

"Oh? That's good, no?"

"No," they said firmly, "they're just trying to keep elves and humans separate. We're leeches to them, just stealing their homes and food and jobs."

"Oh." Ninia paused for a moment, thinking that through, "How does your  _ mahni  _ feel about that?"

"How does she always feel about it? 'Don't be curious,  _ silan'.  _ She thinks curiosity about things that aren't our business is the first step to disaster."

"Her and all the elders here," Ni muttered. "You think they'll ever learn that we like it here?"

" _ Gods,  _ we hope not~"

There was a long moment of quiet, filled only by the shuffling and scrubbing of their working, before Nania rested her cloth down with a hesitant frown. "Hey, Dee? D'you think... if we keep coming back here, will we be able to join the Temple? N-not even as priests, just-.. part of the devotional workforce, you know?"

"Maybe." They hadn't really thought about it. In truth, they hadn't thought about much _at all_ regarding their personal future. Would they like to work in the Temple for real? The thought of spending more of their time here than at home was a comforting one, for sure: seeing Ildemin every day, helping her, hearing her wise words so very often, studying the Gods with her... "We think that would be nice," they admitted eventually. "Working with Il-- with the High Priestess, being able to hear about the upperworld while still working down here..."

"And the rituals! We love the rituals!" Glad her idea was received well, Ninia's voice was cheery once more as she returned to scrubbing and polishing, "Feeling the Gods surrounding us and knowing we're part of the reason They're here with us -- do you think we'll get dreams like the High Priestess?"

"Doubt it," Dee laughed, grinning at the slightly younger  _ Thin,  _ "that's stuff only the High Priests get."

"You never know! There have been three High Priests before!"

"We doubt it'll be us. What a coincidence that would be!"

"The Gods deal in coincidences and riddles, don't They? Maybe that's why we keep having to come back here over and over."

"We keep having to come back here because we're  _ trouble, _ Ninia," Ondela teased, reaching over to swipe their polish cloth across their friend's face, leaving a sizable black smudge across their blue-grey skin, "And now the Gods have  _ marked you, trouble!" _

With an incredulous squeal, Ninia shot to her feet and brandished her cloth in the air, giggling wildly as she chased Ondela around the hall, tackling them to the ground and rubbing it over their face -- directly in front of Ildemin, stood arms-crossed at the door to their office.

"Hard at work, we hear," she laughed, listening to them both as they scrambled to their feet and stood to attention, dipping their heads apologetically. "Oh, stop it, we can practically  _ feel  _ you panicking. Get this done, okay? Then you can play or talk for a while if you like; we'll let your parents know you're working longer than expected so you have time to but  _ only  _ if you focus, okay?"

"Yes, High Priestess," Ninia murmured.

"Sorry, High Priestess," Ondela agreed.

"Good. Get on with it, then~" She hummed, trying her best to sound stern -- but as she returned to her office there was a muffled laugh that followed.


	4. Chapter 4

The events of their day in the Temple rang in Ondela's head for days to come. Every spare moment was spent thinking about it, or working on more tech. Or thinking about it  _ while  _ working on more tech.

Joining the Temple. Was it really what they wanted? Their first instinct was  _ yes, yes of course it was!  _ All they enjoyed and all they loved down here was within the Temple; everything else was just filling time.

But they couldn't get the upperworld out of their mind, and the High Priestess' words to them. If merely leaving for the upperworld once in a while was going to have more impact than they thought, what would active action do? In being holed down here, doing barely anything besides their "excursions" for their own personal enjoyment, were they part of the problem? There were so many women and people down here in need of something more than just fun, and Dee was doing  _ nothing  _ to help them.

And it wasn't just the  _ Thin,  _ either. Sunglasses hooked to a laptop they'd swiped months ago, they were flicking through news article after news article, disgust and restlessness squeezing at their chest the more they read. It had been years since the main conflicts of the Uprising,  _ eighteen  _ years in fact, and people were still fighting. Society was settled to such a 'norm' that this didn't seem to bother them -- just more crap for the monthly news when an elf was beaten to death. Just more bull for the web to spread around when protesters were silenced. But it was every day. Every minute, every  _ second,  _ something was happening that they could do nothing about.

It was worse in other countries, at least openly. Most of Russia had outright banned Elves from entering the country, retaliating with violence when they were found. America was still fighting between states over what should or shouldn't belong. Some cities were in ruins; news from them was minimal over the years but Dee knew there were still people living there.

It was just...  _ maddening  _ to be stuck here with no news, no real knowledge of what was happening to their kin and their allies in the upperworld. It hurt knowing they weren't even allowed to  _ know,  _ let alone participate. And as they twisted the last of their wiring into a cute little lit-up headdress to gift to Ildemin in secret, they knew they had to do something about that.

" _ Mahni _ ?" they wondered, leaving the headdress on their bed as they padded quietly into the study, where their mother was sat mixing medicines and potions; as was her hobby -- and her profession, for most of Ondela's life. "Tell me the story again. About what happened to  _ rahni. _ "

" _ Silan,  _ why would you want to hear that again?" Ondela gritted their teeth just a little at the dismissive tone in their mother's voice, wondering not for the first time how her name was Nasari nii del  _ Lahmah  _ of all things. Lahmah, Goddess of Love, Fertility and the honour of family bonds -- sure. Somewhere in there perhaps. All Dee saw most of the time was self-interest and secrecy. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine,  _ mahni,  _ fine. We just-- want to keep it fresh in our mind. So we don't forget them, or the lessons they taught, as our closest ancestor."

"There are more things to remember about Elenha than their death," she sighed, but rested her ingredients down nonetheless. "There isn't much to tell,  _ silan. _ Rainwater made it through the cracks into our home during a great storm, and they fell to the damp-sickness. Our healers tried to help them, but our supplies were short, and they never returned from their journey to the upperworld to trade."

"Why didn't they return, mahni?" Ondela knew it was pointless asking, but it was worth another try.

"We don't know, and it is not our place to ask. Don't be curious,  _ silan.  _ Isn't it time you visit the High Priestess? I hear there is to be a naming ritual tonight."

The suggestion was followed by the pointed silence Ondela knew meant the conversation was over; punctuated by their mother returning to their work without another sound. Heaving a sigh, Dee turned heel and left without saying goodbye. At the very least, Ildemin would have the care to actually have a conversation with them. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fictional religious ritual? FICTIONAL RELIGIOUS RITUAL!

"You know we can't wear this in public, right?" Ildemin ran delicate fingers over Dee's gifted headpiece with a grin, admiring the little details that were twisted into the metalwork.

"You're not supposed to! It's for  _ you  _ to enjoy, not everyone else."

"It's beautiful," the Priestess hummed, gently resting it on her head and twisting it to rest nicely among her white braids. Though she couldn't see it, Dee marveled at the way the lights gave her midnight skin a starlit glow. "It feels like humming magic in our hair. Thank you, Ondela. It is a very thoughtful gift."

Offering a little bow, still buzzing with excitement despite the informal setting that the High Priestess liked something  _ they  _ made  _ by themself _ , Ondela set to work immediately in dusting the day's ritual altar. Today's ritual was to be the rite of adulthood for the children of the city who were coming of age to participate in their duties, and so the altar had to be  _ pristine.  _ There were to be three bowls: one containing the ritual water, one empty for offerings, and one containing the glowing, swirling ink that would become the childrens' ritual tattoos. Ondela remembered their coming of age fondly as they polished the bowls, recalling the tingle and sting of their tattoos as they were seared into their skin.

"Would you like to be our Bearer today?" Ildemin wondered, returning from her office where she'd left to hide her gift away. "You remember the ritual, yes?"

"Of course we do!" How could they forget? It was the most important moment of their childhood; the moment when the Priest offers words gifted to them specifically by the Gods.  _ In every heart there is a flame,  _ Ondela's had said,  _ cradle it too close, hold it too tightly, and it will be snuffed out. But open it to those around you, let it see the air and spark in the darkness, and it will warm all who see you. I see your flames, and the Gods wish them free. _

"Good. Could you help us with our robes? And then we can see about finding you something to wear."

'Something to wear' turned out to be one of Ildemin's old robes from her time in priesthood training -- a long, flowing gown made of the richest fabrics Dee had seen in a long time, besides the robes of the High Priest herself. It was a far-cry from their minimal old drapings of scrap cloth, for sure. The fabric was sheer and shimmering, sparkling blue in the candlelight and resting in waves over their body. It was like the stars had wrapped themselves around their form and were carrying them with a new lightness to their step, and the best part? It matched  _ perfectly  _ with Ildemin's robes. Only the richest and most difficult to find fabrics were afforded to the High Priestess, and it showed. The layers of black and blue fabric were like moth's wings folding themselves over Ildemin's arms and flowing behind her in a train of silken scales. She truly embodied the Lady of Darkness, and Ondela was proud to be standing at her side for this.

"We gather today to witness the passing of these children to the first stages of adulthood." The High Priestess' words echoed through the hall, powerful and confident. The Temple was once to be a theatre, and the acoustics reflected that; carrying her voice clearly through the gathered families. "The girls will soon experience their first bleed, and the sexless will feel the pain of their development. This is normal, and good, for it marks the beginning of a new life for these children, and will lead them to begin their desired journey into our society proper. Children of the Ancestors;  _ nii del Thain,  _ step forward and receive your blessings."

The gathered hopefuls, most just barely beginning their teenhood, approached the altar of stone set below the steps to the stage Ildemin stood at. Each were dressed in their best garments, which for some was merely the nicest, most complete shirt they could fashion from the fabrics their parents had traded, but the effort was visible. "Step to the Bearer, and gift them your offerings."

This was Ondela's role to play. Lifting the empty offering bowl, they lowered themself to their knees, so they were positioned just below most of the children's eye-line, and held the bowl for them to drop their trinkets into. Each was a handmade gift, usually jewellery, crafted from the plentiful stock of metals and stone that every  _ Thin  _ stronghold held. Once every child had given their gift, Dee returned to their feet and rested the bowl back on the altar, standing ready to anoint them all with water.

"As you approach the altar, focus deeply on your Patron God. For many of you, this is simply  _ Ora  _ or  _ Ahla,  _ the Patrons of the sexless and the female respectively. Others among you may have specific futures in mind for yourselves, or may wish to alter your gender. That is between you and your Gods, and you may keep them to yourself if you wish, or speak them aloud as you are anointed with the life-giving waters of the under-rivers."

Most remained silent, their brows pinched in focus as Ondela gently dipped her fingers in the water and marked each child in turn: their main point of communication (for most, their throats), to carry their voices, the most primarily used natural tools to carry their skills (most often their hands), and their foreheads to carry their intelligence.

"The Gods give you these gifts that you may use them to better yourselves, and your community. What that means is up to you and you alone -- your Patron will guide you and support you as you forge your own path. You may not know what your purpose is in the grand scheme of things. You may  _ never  _ know. But each stone that glitters in candlelight, and each footstep that echoes in the great halls, are each part of a far larger picture. You will survive. You will thrive. You will contribute, and you will be magnificent."

This was the moment Ondela knew Ildemyne and Mahsa were truly embodied within each other. There was something so soft and genuine about the High Priestess' words, as if her heart and the Goddess' were intertwined and inseparable, and there was an airy, drifted undertone to every word she spoke as if her body were merely a vessel for the words that swelled in her heart as her tattoos glowed and swirled across her left cheek. Ondela was so caught up in the speech that they almost forgot the next part -- the marking bowl and brush. Lifting the bowl of thick, glowing liquid, they stood ready for the first child, listening for their cue.

"Today you take your common-name to carry you through the changes. Today your Gods breathe life into your soul and begin the awakening process of your faith and your power. Today your Ancestors step back from your shadow, having taught you the practical skills you need for your Gods to take their place. You will never be alone: your Gods will forever walk in your footsteps. Now step forward, and receive the markings of your spirit that you may shine with all the strength of your Gods."

That was their cue. Raising the metal paintbrush in their hand, dripping with liquid, they pressed the tip of it to the first child's forehead, watching as the liquid drained from the brush and disappeared into their skin. There was a moment's silence, then the glow returned, pulsing through the child's veins and marking almost whisker-like strokes along their cheeks.

"Feel the paint as it sinks into you. Feel the magic of your ancestors' blood and the love of your Gods as it chooses its place in your skin. Now go home and rest, and rise tomorrow Dara nii del Ora, child of the Dusklight That Shines from the upperworld, newborn of  _ Dili-Thin nii  _ Beijing."

And so it continued, child after child, mark after mark, until every child was marked and named and the hall held only the families gathered to observe the rite.

"The children who joined us today are still your children." Ildemin, upon addressing the adults in the room, suddenly held a far firmer authority. "They are still newborn, and fresh within the night. They will still need your guidance. They will still need your protection. As Mahsa guides Her children, so too must you. Keep them safe. Keep them happy. Keep them sacred.

"Blessings of the Great Gods upon you all. You are dismissed."

Ondela stood at Ildemin's side as they watched the small crowd disperse, basking in the silence that followed for a little longer before they dared allow the peace to be broken and the ritual to end.

"You did wonderfully." Ildemin was the first to speak, offering Ondela a smile as they peered over their shoulder at her. "You'd make an excellent Priest, you know. But-.. We have been watching you doubt and question and we don't think that's your path, do you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dee laughed, a peaceful glow in her smile as she rested the bowl she carried back onto the altar.

"We mean what we say. You could remain here, but we don't think you will. Come, sit with us." Striding carefully over to the steps of the stage, she sat and patted the space beside her. "We've heard rumours, you know. That you can get out of the city for a low price. It'll take a while for you to earn the credits, of course, but if you were to wish to do that..."

Ondela couldn't believe their ears. The High Priestess was encouraging them to abandon their town and elope on some foolhardy adventure that their mother absolutely definitely would _ not  _ approve of. What would they even do, outside of the city? This had escalated pretty damn quickly from 'I want to be involved with the protests' to 'why not leave the city and travel somewhere completely unknown?' and they weren't sure  _ what  _ to think about it.

"We are not saying that is what you  _ should  _ do," she clarified, laughing softly at the shock on Dee's face, "just that it's an option. There are many things you may not have considered were possible -- it is our job as your High Priestess to lay those paths before you and to let you choose between them."

"Is that what Mahsa wants from us? To turn our back on our people for our own selfish desire?"

"Is it selfish to wish to help others of our kind? Is it selfish to join our kin in a cause for the embetterment of  _ all  _ elves, not just those of us who dwell in the dark?" Before Ondela could even think to answer that, she shrugged, the knowing smile dancing on her lips again. "It is not for us to want anything for you. We are not you. You hold the soul of Ondela and Ora; it is between you to decide what that means. And we believe your time is coming soon to make that decision."

"With respect, High Priestess," Dee teased, "You are making absolutely no sense."

"You have choices," Ildemin hummed. "You still sit with your common-name, taking the nights as moments and whims with no true direction. You know soon your  _ mahni  _ will want you to take a profession and a Patron to match."

"Mahni would also have us chained to her arm for the rest of our life if it suited her," Ondela muttered dryly.

"And today is your second day aiding me with my work, meaning you'll be back to your usual routine again." The priestess hardly paid notice to Dee's complaining, smoothing a few scales of her dress back into place as she spoke. "What is your plan?"

Ondela couldn't help themself. The moment the word 'plan' left Ildemin's mouth they were cackling, laughing in wild sarcasm at the concept of even thinking about having any kind of plan. "That's the funniest thing you've ever said," she chuckled, "Us? Have a plan? That-- that's funny."

"And that is our point. How many times have you had to come here and work with us now? Fifteen times perhaps? In the last six months alone? You keep repeating the same mistakes and decisions, day by night by day, as if something will change if you just keep casting the same incantation. You need direction."

"We need to be lectured too, apparently..." It wasn't unlike the High Priestess to suddenly lay some harsh wisdom upon those she spoke with -- it was Mahsa's influence, they thought -- but to be suddenly so personal with it-.. Ondela swallowed heavily, their words trailing off as they listened.

"We don't mean to upset you, Ondela. We were once in your position; we see ourself in you. Do you think we came to your Eastern home on a whim? No. It was a difficult decision; had Mahsa and Ildemin not found each other on their journey, it could have been in vain. But something called us together, and now we are here -- and we could not have reached this place without following our instincts and  _ acting. _ "

"Is that what you say to all the trouble children who get sent to you?"

Ildemin chuckled at that, "Not all, but some. You are not a child, Ondela. We know Eastern customs say you must have your job and Patron before you are considered an adult, but in the North we are adults the moment the Changes slow. You may not know where you are going, but you know enough of the worlds above and below to be able to choose what you want."

"What if we choose wrong?"

"Then you will have learned a lesson you otherwise would not. Do you think we never chose the wrong path on our journey here? Making mistakes is what makes us wise to them. A cautious person could avoid every mistake, but they will never have truly lived. Think deeply: what do you truly have to lose?"

Ondela blinked. "Our home? Our family? We could be exiled for endangering ourself and our people; for forsaking our place in society in pursuit of frivolity."

"As I was," she admitted, "Then we suppose you just have to decide what is worth the risk. Perhaps you would not even wish to return home? Perhaps you will learn something that your people find valuable enough to allow you home? Perhaps they will make an exception, as they did when we became High Priestess?"

"Can you see our future? Can you tell us what could happen?"

"We just told you what  _ could  _ happen, but that did not require our gift. What  _ will  _ happen is something only time can decide -- we can not and will not call upon the Gods to tell you, for then it would not be your choice."

"We-.." Ondela resumed their blinking, thoughts visibly spinning in their brain as a dizzy kind of sickness gripped at their chest. They had never been made to actually sit and think about this so deeply, let alone to make a decision about their future like this. "We don't know if we feel more enlightened or confused."

Another, softer laugh, "Such are the words of the Gods. Come, let us clean up and get you home; it's back to your regular routine tomorrow."


	6. Chapter 6

The days following were a dragging mess of chores and studies. Mother had decided she was not about to leave for another town meeting until she was certain Ondela would not try to escape again, and so they were under scrutiny for far longer than they liked. Still, this was hardly unusual -- they went through this same routine every single time and nothing changed.

At least they knew that habit came from  _ somewhere. _

Still, their thoughts were full of Ildemin's words. There was scarcely a quiet moment where they were not thinking about it -- and there were a  _ lot  _ of quiet moments. It was during one of these moments, their mother preparing a meal while they scoured through tomes and parchments of historical figures they'd read about a million times before, that they spoke up: a cautious, half-absent thought that slipped their lips before they could stop themself.

" _ Mahni,  _ can we ask... what happened to  _ rahni?" _

The older elf fell still for a moment, the silence thick with thought, before returning to stirring her pot. "This is the second time you've asked in a month. You know what happened to them,  _ silan.  _ They fell sick, and-- they joined Ora in the dusklight."

"When you told us the story, you said there were healers sent to the upperworld to trade for medicine, but you never said what happened and why they couldn't save  _ rahni _ . What happened to them?"

"They didn't come back." The answer was snippy, unwilling to take the conversation further, and Ondela sighed at the next words from their mother's mouth. "Why are you asking about this, child? Let us not talk of such things."

"You never want to talk about it. You never want to talk about  _ rahni,  _ or the upperworld, or  _ anything  _ that makes you uncomfortable." Dee couldn't help it. The frustration in their voice rose, the book they had open snapping shut to punctuate their point. "What happened to them,  _ mahni _ ? Why didn't they come back?"

" _ The Uprising happened!" _

The silence was icy, as if mother's shout had drained the sound and colour from the room. Ondela fell very, very still, eyes searching  _ mahni's  _ catlike stare as if it would pry more answers from her without having to speak. The Uprising happened? Dee knew they were too young to remember the true impact of the Uprising, especially when so much of it happened in the upperworld, but why by the river-stars would mother know anything about it? Only ambassadors and priests knew of the events of the upperworld. The Uprising was a political event regarding the Elven Council; not a matter for Commoners unless it affected them actively and directly.

"What," they muttered, trying to keep their voice as level as they could, "do you mean?"

Heaving a long sigh, the strikes and swirls along mother's face seeming to breathe along with her, as if her Goddess was actively trying to keep her calm. Keeping one eye on the food, she came over to sit down and still herself before she continued. "We don't know the details; it isn't our place to know. All we know is the Uprising was at its peak when your  _ rahni  _ fell ill. We knew it would be dangerous for the healers to leave; the nearest elven settlement at the time was outside the city. There were rumours of fighting... all we know is that they never returned."

The Uprising took them. Just as the Uprising took so many others. "You didn't want us to know. You didn't want us to know so we wouldn't be curious."

"Of  _ course  _ we didn't want you to know, Ondela! You play and snoop and nose up there enough as it is! You have a  _ duty  _ to your people, and it is our duty as  _ nii del Lahmah  _ to protect you."

" _ Don't be curious, silan, don't be curious, why are you asking about this?  _ Do you know how many of  _ our people  _ are suffering up there? Do you know how many of our kin are fighting every single day, all over the world? No, you don't. Because nobody here is  _ curious,  _ nobody  _ cares." _

"Curiosity is  _ dangerous.  _ We care; of course we care -- about  _ our  _ people,  _ in this town.  _ If we cannot keep our own families and friends safe then what chance do we have in the upperworld? Curiosity only gets naive Thin  _ killed!" _

"No,  _ mahni!  _ No it doesn't! Maybe it did when you were our age, and we all lived in secret, and the humans would kill us if they knew we were real, and there was a code of secrecy, but the world isn't like that anymore! Things have  _ changed!  _ There is suffering and pain and fighting, yes, but there is also aid and love and alliance! There are people  _ on our side, mahni!  _ People who want to see us free and happy!"

"'Us'? Really?" Nasari's voice took on a bitter edge, eyeing her child with a sigh that spoke levels of 'you're far too young to know anything about this'. "Or High Elves? City Elves? Do they even care that us Dark Elves exist, other than the damage we supposedly cause? Nobody is on our side, Ondela. Not even our own kin."

Dee couldn't believe their ears. "You really don't believe us, do you? After all the times we've been up there and seen it with our own eyes?"

"What is there to believe? The words of a child seeing the upperworld through the eyes tinted with peace and ignorance, as opposed to decades -- no,  _ centuries  _ of survival?" Sighing again, as if she were being the most  _ reasonable  _ and  _ patient  _ of mothers right now, she ran a hand through her hair, scruffy and black just as Ondela's was. "We know you do not yet know your place. We know you have not yet chosen your future. But this makes you still a child, Ondela. Still full of potential and ignorance. Trust us when we say you will see this differently when you come of age."

"The High Priestess says that in the North we would already be an adult, as the Changes have stopped."

"The High Priestess is--"

Gotcha. "Wrong,  _ mahni?  _ Are you about to doubt the High Priestess' words?"

For a moment Nasari's cheeks tinted blue, fury and embarrassment sending her trembling for a moment before she seemingly tucked all that into some secret compartment in her mind. "You're so difficult, Ondela. We shan't talk of this any more."

"Fine. We shan't."

With that, Dee turned heel and left the house, heading -- as they always did -- to the rock wall and the human-built staircase.


	7. Chapter 7

This was a mistake. Storming out was a mistake when they  _ didn't have their damned sunglasses.  _ The glare and shine of the city made it impossible for their sensitive eyes to see where they were going, but that was okay. Living in the dark meant navigating was their forte, right? At least, that's what they told themself as they tried desperately to blink away the near-instantaneous headache and disorientation. Gods, were the sounds and smells of the city always this overwhelming? They'd forgotten just how much people relied on their sight up here. Still shaking with fury and pushed forward by spite, Ondela stumbled aimlessly through the streets, just barely avoiding people passing by as they just... walked. And walked. And kept walking, until their legs gave out underneath them and they slid down the nearest wall, eyes screwing shut against the lights as they leaned their head back and took a deep breath of air; just basking in the cool night air for a while.

"Tough night?" Ondela groaned at Lijuan's familiar voice, attempting to open an eye only to squeeze it immediately shut again. "Come on, stupid. Wear these."

Something was slipped onto their face, and with a tentative peek of an eye they breathed a sigh of relief to find their vision heavily filtered; shaded by what felt like a pair of darkened goggles. "Thanks. Last time we-.. last time  _ I  _ do that again."

"Looks like you left in a hurry," she hummed, frowning down at her friend before offering a hand up, "Everything okay?"

"Just my  _ mahni. _ " Dee accepted the hand with a groan, rolling their eyes as they tried to brush off the fight. In truth, their head was still spinning with her harsh words; chest still squeezing with frustration. But that didn't matter right now. Right now they were in the upperworld with their upperworld friend, and nothing in the underground mattered.

Lijuan looked them up and down with scrutinising brown eyes, her mind clearly working just as fast as her mouth did -- that is, about three hundred miles a minute -- before nodding shortly to herself. "You come back to my place. We'll relax."

Ondela's eyes widened despite themself, "My  _ mahni  _ will burst something if she finds out I've gone to a human's home."

"Your mama will burst something if she finds out you've breathed near a human, who cares. You come back to mine, you stay at mine for the night. You need breathing space."

Could they really do that? Just spend an entire night with their friend; shirk all of their responsibilities? Tonight was the night they were supposed to help the ambassadors prepare their robes for a Council meeting.

The Ambassadors, who somehow managed to look down upon commonfolk children just as much as the High Elves did. With their huffing and hurrying and 'that doesn't fit, do it again' as if they were supposed to know how the damn robes are supposed to fit when they've barely even touched clothes so lavish and over the top in their entire lives, and--

They would be fine.

"Lead the way, I suppose," they decided, happy to just get out of the bright lights and noise. The goggles were helping, but the headache wasn't going away anytime soon.

With another sharp nod, Li turned heel and led them through the streets, dragging them to the nearest train station -- where Dee hesitated. "I don't have credits."

Rolling her eyes, Lijuan took hold of their hand and dragged them with her, "I'll pay, stupid."

The train journey went by in a flash, barely a few minutes of travel sickness before they were bundling off again. Lijuan barely took a moment to let them breathe the nausea away before she'd taken off again, leading them through a quiet residential district to one of the smaller apartments nearby.

"Mama!" she yelled the moment she'd shucked her shoes and entered the house, slipping on a pair of slippers and turning back to tell Ondela to do the same -- only to realise they weren't actually wearing any. There was a moment's pause, as if she wasn't quite sure what to do about that, before she simply urged the elf to wipe their feet and wear the slippers anyway. "Mama, we have a visitor from the underground!"

"The underground?" An older woman poked her head around the kitchen door, offering the guest a smile of welcome as soon as she laid eyes on them, "Hello, welcome!" she hummed, striding over to shake Ondela's hand.

Dee smiled a little awkwardly, doing their best to remember the etiquette Li had taught her over time, and offered a formal hello in return -- breathing a near-imperceptible sigh of relief as their efforts seemed to come across well. "I'm sorry I have nothing to give -- I was not expecting to be invited. But your home is beautiful," they added quickly, "the art on the walls is stunning."

It wasn't a shallow compliment to be polite, either -- the home was decorated lavishly with art both old and new -- even a few pieces Dee recognised as Lijuan's own. It wasn't easy to get art into the walls like this back home, so the most of the art was hung in drapes in the halls, or kept in the Ambassadors' homes.

"Your Chinese is so good! Did my daughter teach you? She always has been so kind to elves."

"Oh, it's not perfect, b-but thank you! Yes, Lijuan taught me all I know about humanity; she's been very good to me."

Before they could be swept away into more compliments or offers of dinner, or perhaps some kind of interrogation (something Ondela had received many a time from the humans they'd spoken to), Lijuan spoke up quickly. "Mama, Dee came here to relax, okay? He's had a rough day."

"Of course, of course, go relax! You are welcome here," she urged, beaming at them as she ushered them away, "I will make you dinner! Perhaps you can stay the night? My daughter's clothes won't suit you but it won't matter for one day if you borrow them."

"Oh, I-..!" Ondela didn't know what to say to that -- and fortunately they didn't have to know, as a tug on the arm from Li quickly pulled them out of the conversation and into Li's bedroom.

"He'll consider it, thank you mama!" she called after them, quickly shutting the door with a wince and an apologetic laugh, "I'm sorry about my mama. She doesn't get many visitors, especially not elves."

"She's very friendly," Ondela laughed, unable to keep the grin from their face now that they were out of the bombardment of shock. "A human would never be received like that by a Dark Elf!"

"Manners are important," Lijuan insisted, "and mama believes that everyone on this earth holds the same breath of life, so everyone should be treated equally."

"She's lovely. Thank you for bringing me to your home, Lijuan, I mean it. This is just what I need after all the stuffiness at home."

"Eh, don't mention it," she hummed, pointing around the room as she spoke. "Bed, you can have for the night. Clothes, take your pick, I'll show you which ones are for sleeping. Junk, just-.. rummage through if you want, I've got too much that mama wants me to get rid of. And here are the games!"

Shoving a small pile of junk out of the way, Lijuan dragged a couple of old consoles from behind it and handed Ondela a controller, "Wanna play something?"

"I've never even  _ touched  _ one of these before," they laughed, "how am I supposed to play?"

"I'll teach you! It'll be fun!"

It  _ was  _ fun. The two spent the night attempting to play games and sharing stories of their lives, laughing and just having fun without worrying about anything else. They ate dinner; a wonderful, huge meal made by Lijuan's mother, the likes of which Dee could only  _ imagine  _ until now, and the  _ only  _ time they thought of home was in gleefully wondering how many chores they'd have to do for the High Priestess after this little adventure.

Which is why it was such a downer when it was all over.

"You don't have to go back," Lijuan said, "You can stay anytime for as long as you want."

"Thanks, Li. But I have duties to get back to; I can't abandon my people even if my  _ mahni  _ sucks."

"You have more honour than me," she laughed, "I'd be gone so fast. See you later, pointy-ears."

"Not if I see you first, flat-ear~"


	8. Chapter 8

"We'll do town duties for a month and Temple duties for a week, don't talk to me  _ mahni. _ "

Ondela spared no time in apologies or arguments as they came home, ignoring their mother's fuming gaze and storming straight to their bedroom. There was too much work to be done to care what lectures and punishments their mother had in store for them -- they'd heard it all before anyhow.

No, today was going to be spent working towards what they really wanted; what they didn't even realise they wanted until the fun night they'd had. They wanted to see it all: to experience everything they possibly could and learn all about humans and other elves, and to actually have a  _ place  _ in this Uprising. There were so many jobs and factions and duties they could take on, so many people they could meet, and they weren't going to waste their life stuck in this hole while that was the case. There was a fire in their fingertips as they checked on their sunglasses, still hooked into the little box of miracles that was their laptop.  _ Three credits.  _ Damn. Perhaps they could siphon more if the signal was any better down here-..

Chewing their lip in thought, they dragged the laptop off of their bed, scooting quickly back past their mother and heading towards the Upperworld again; but not to leave, this time. Sure enough, the tethered signal on the mess of cables that was their sunglasses was getting stronger the further up the human-made staircase they traveled, and with a triumphant hum they shot Lijuan a message for perhaps the first time in forever.

_ 'I'm leaving my laptop on the human-made stairs to the underground, you know the one. Please come get it and keep it safe (and tethered!) - and if you know any way to make it siphon credits faster I'm not going to complain. I'll be back for it soon. -Dee' _

It was only  _ after  _ hitting send and darting back downstairs that they realised with an outward cringe that adding their name wasn't necessary, as it would be attached to their message anyway.

No matter. Next stop: the Temple.

There was glee in their eyes and a spring in their step as they approached the Temple doors, taking a moment to offer their thanks to the carved depictions of the Gods that lay around the doors, before darting inside and making their way to knock at Ildemin's office. "High Priestess! Guess who has a whole week with you!"

"Hmm," her voice carried back, "does it begin and end with 'trouble'?"

"Absolutely. May we enter?"

"Perhaps," she hummed, giving just a moment before the door swung open and allowed them inside. The High Priestess sat at her desk, scrawling something onto one of her papers, but her head tilted just a little as Ondela entered. "Your footsteps clatter and beat like a human's, and there is a heavier fabric about you. You're wearing human clothes?"

"Yeah! We stayed with our friend for the night -- her  _ mahni  _ is so nice! And she gave us these clothes so we could fit in with the upperworld."

Pushing to her feet, Ildemin stepped over, gently running a hand over the glistening, draping fabric of the jacket Ondela was wearing. "Your  _ mahni  _ came to pray yesterday. She was worried about you."

" _ Mahni  _ doesn't worry about us. She worries about how she looks as a parent."

"Maybe so," Ildemin said carefully, "but all the same. You should tell someone when you are going to be away for so long. What caused it?"

"We asked her about  _ rahni. _ "

"Again?" the Priestess' hand paused its examination, brow narrowing in concern, "What was different?"

"We didn't let her avoid the question. We asked why the healers didn't come back, and she shouted about the Uprising and how nobody cares about Dark Elves, not even other Elves."

"We understand..." Sighing gently, she returned to her desk and thought for a moment, clearly trying to decide the best way to word her next point. "It can be frustrating, speaking with our elders. You know they are of a different generation; one with so much more conflict and secrecy, but still you need them to understand from your points of view -- you cannot understand why they will not shift their perspective even slightly."

Ondela nodded along enthusiastically, glad that someone understood them for once.

"For people like you and your human friend..." she continued, "you grew up with the Uprising. You understand it to a far greater depth than your parents can."

"Lijuan's  _ mahni  _ understands! She's  _ lovely  _ to elves."

"And Lijuan's  _ mahni  _ is a shining beacon in a world afraid of change. Think of it: you have spent your entire life learning the rules of the world as it is. Then something challenges that -- something so big you feel you have to learn all of the rules all over again. Would you not be afraid? Would you not fight that difference for as long as you could?"

"Perhaps in our head and with our friends," they argued, "but to speak so cruelly in the face of that change is never excusable. In the face of that which we don't understand, we'd be patient and try even if it's difficult."

"And that is what separates you from others. It is difficult to swallow pride in the face of differences. As we see it, you have two options: you can keep trying to change your  _ mahni' _ s mind, pushing and patiently explaining over and over until she understands or you give up, or you can show her she is wrong."

"We are going to show her," Ondela answered with barely a pause, "That's why we're here so soon. We need to ask you how to take passage west."

"You are certain?"

"Yes. At first we thought perhaps of joining the Temple, but-.. no. We want to see the world; to understand human cultures and other elves. To know the true nature of the Uprising and to find our place. And then we will come back with news and help and knowledge. There is so much change that could be done here; all we need is to know how, and to know what the best way is."

"A noble goal," Ildemin agreed, nodding slowly, "what happens if your goal changes? You find something you did not expect and it changes your direction?"

"It won't." Ondela was certain in a way they had never been certain before. It was as if the Gods had opened a veil in front of them, allowing them to truly see what lay in front of them. The doors to the upperworld were open and it was blinding, but they could hear the shout and call of the world outside and right now they wanted nothing more than to join it. This was what they wanted. This was what they needed. This was what they were supposed to do. "We know our path, and we will not stray from it."

Ildemin frowned at that, gaze locked on Ondela as if she could not only see them, but see  _ through  _ them. Though her eyes were pure white, there was a glint of something unreadable that Dee couldn't quite figure out, and for the first time in as long as they could remember, they felt truly scrutinised by the High Priestess. The love and gentility of the Lady of Eternal Dark was there for the ritual Dee had helped with -- but now they were truly seeing the cold, calculated judgement: the thoughtful, watchful eye the darkness always held.

"You are certain," she said eventually, less a question than an observation, "but will that certainty last?"

Before Ondela could think to answer, frozen in place by the look in her eye, Ildemin was on her feet again, pacing over to rest a surprisingly gentle hand on the younger elf's chest. "Think long and deep about your decision. Hold it in your heart and carry it with you. You have our blessing, but also our warning: it will not be so easy as you believe. You will doubt. You will question. You will fear. We know this, for we have lived it."

"W-we understand," Ondela breathed, sucking in a deep, steadying breath -- and just as quickly as the intensity was there, it drained from Ildemin's face and was replaced by the same, loving smile she always held.

"You will need credits. Fifty, we believe, then some for extra preparation."

Ondela nodded, shaking themself out of their daze. "We have our friend helping us with that."

"Alright. Have you thought about how you are going to communicate? As you leave the country, the languages will change."

"We will think of something," they said, "We speak one of the western Common tongues; that should carry us, no?"

"Perhaps. It helped us, but there are always those who do not speak it."

"Then we will find someone who does, and ask for their help with the rest."

"And if they are not receptive?"

"Find someone else."

Ildemin thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "You will need supplies. Food, clothes, perhaps bedding as you will not always find a home to stay in. Take some trinkets and things of worth with you also -- not all places in the world use credits, and many trade items instead. And lastly," she continued, leaning back against her desk, "go with the grace of the Gods. Do not forget your people and your place in this world, for they will carry you in the light and the dark."

"Of course, High Priestess." Ondela stepped forward, resting their hand on first her left arm, then her right -- a gesture of thanks for the blind. "We will not forget our place here, and the role we played. We will not forget you, and the Gods, and the Ancestors. We will always remember it is They who led us on this journey."

Ildemin gave another short nod, "We will help you prepare where we can. It is up to you if you tell your  _ mahni  _ and friends or not, but you will have to keep up your duties until the night you are ready to leave."

"Of course."

"You're leaving?" The third voice was hoarse and incredulous, called from the doorway to the office, and Ondela winced at the sound. Turning around, their gaze was guilty and apologetic as they faced their younger friend.

"We have to, Ninia. It is our path."

"And you were going to leave without saying goodbye to us, weren't you?"

"No, of course not! We aren't leaving just yet; you will see us until we have enough credits to leave."

"And what about your duties here? What about joining the Temple together and becoming Priests and speaking with the Gods?"

Ildemin smiled at the thought, resting a hand on Ondela's shoulder to stop them speaking further, as she moved closer to the teenager. "It is not for us to argue the path of our kin, young Ninia, only to support and trust them."

"B-but-.. what if they never come back? What if they never think of us again?"

"We would never forget you, Nini!" Dee interjected, heart dropping in shock that she would even think that of them.

"You will make new friends. You will make new memories and new dreams." There was the love again. Ildemin's voice was so soft and careful, even Ondela had no choice but to listen, and to feel the soothing tone. "It may hurt, but you must trust that they are in a happier place; that they are where they are supposed to be. It will get easier over time to deal with their absence."

Ninia could not argue with the High Priestess, but her gaze flickered between Ildemin and Ondela, clearly still trying to search for some new point to bring up. In the end, her eyes watered in Dee's direction, and she managed a weak, "We don't want you to go..."

"We're sorry." Ondela's voice shook, only now realising what leaving would mean for their friendships. Stepping quickly over to their friend, they pulled her into a tight hug; pressing their nose to her forehead. "We will never,  _ ever  _ forget you. And we'll be back someday, when we're older and wiser, and then we expect to see you all dressed up in a Priestess gown, okay?"

Sniffling, Ninia nodded up at them before squeezing closer again, letting the hug continue just a moment longer.

"It is not over yet," Ildemin hummed eventually, patting her desk to get their attention, "Ondela will not have enough to leave for some time, and there is still work to be done so let us get started."

Pulling reluctantly from the hug, the two shared a glance; mischief shining in teary eyes. "Last one to the consecrating water has to scrub behind the baths!" Dee challenged with a gleeful laugh, their footsteps clattering in their new shoes as they ran to get a headstart, tailed quickly with an incredulous squeak by Ninia.


	9. Chapter 9

Ildemin was right -- it was a long time before Ondela could leave. Under their bed was a slowly-growing pile of supplies; things they had prepared to help them in their journey and food they had slowly been stockpiling in secret -- sneaking it from the cupboards and hiding it from their mother. After the third visit to the upperworld in a month, Dee's mother seemed to have given up punishing them for sneaking out; merely sighing and refusing to speak to them for a while whenever they returned, and that suited them just fine.

Lijuan was slowly gathering credits for her friend, using every trick she knew of to get them together faster -- including dropping some of her own profits in from time to time to help it along: something Ondela had tried and failed to argue against. She had also been compiling lists and maps for them, detailing things she knew they would need and places she knew they might go.

Ildemin had been helping too, in more subtle ways: sneaking them cloths and items from the Temple and Ambassadors that would make their journey a little more comfortable. Even Ninia was helping in her own way, using the limited knowledge of sewing she had -- making little satchels and bags to help them carry things.

In the end, it took them less than three months to be prepared to leave, but it felt like an eternity. The season had passed to autumn and for a little while they wondered if they should wait for spring to come -- but impatience bloomed heavily in their chest and they couldn't bring themself to wait any longer than they had.

They decided not to tell their mother until they were gone. After so long trying to decide how best to say it, they realised it would be far too sour a note to begin their journey on --  _ mahni  _ would definitely fight them on it, and then they would leave angry and bitter, and that was not what they wanted. They wanted to leave with fresh eyes and hope in their heart, and so with a sack of goods in their arms and a final goodbye said to their friends and Ildemin, they headed for the human-made stairs with no trace but a note.

_ Mahni. We are leaving to travel West. We know this is what we want and we know this is what we need, and we have been planning for a long time now. We know you will feel we have abandoned our duty, but we are only following it in a different way. We as Thin should have responsibility for more than just ourselves, and we will prove to you that the world is changed -- that there are those who help Thin just as they help the other elves and humans. _

_ Do not look for us. This is our Gods-given truth and we will follow it with Their blessing. _

_ We will be back someday. _

_ We love you very much. _

_ Goodbye, and may you walk forever in the blessed footsteps of the Gods. _

_ -Ondela _

Lijuan was waiting at the top of the steps for them, as planned. The Scrapper held their sunglasses ready to slip them onto their face, and a large backpack to put their prepared items into. "It has compartments," she said, "for organising your things. This part will keep your food good, and this part is padded for fragile things. Oh, and here!" Pulling a belt from the otherwise-empty backpack, she set to work clipping Ninia's satchels and pouches to it. "Wear this."

When the bag was packed and Ondela was geared up, they followed Lijuan through the streets of Beijing, making their way to the traveler Ildemin had heard about. The man in question owned an airship -- a rare but not unheard of mode of transport usually owned by those who were lucky enough to be wealthy post-Uprising, or had access to someone who was. Most airships were modified zeppelins, and this was no different -- the thing was old and Ondela didn't think there was any way it would still be functioning if not for the many,  _ many  _ modifications. The thing was covered in lights and glowing pieces of tech attached to the rigid balloon and wiring into the cockpit, all huge and, on closer inspection by Ondela, handmade.

"You want to travel?" The merchant was lavishly dressed in a long, blue velvet coat - and decidedly  _ not  _ Chinese. Though now they thought about it, Dee wasn't sure what they were expecting from a traveling pilot. "I'm heading to Europe. Ship stops in Ukraine. Fifty credits."

Well. That was to the point. Glancing back at Lijuan for support, Ondela handed over her cable, watching as he plugged it into a device strapped to his wrist and siphoned the credits back from them. "We leave in an hour," he said, handing back the cable with a hum, "Nice handiwork there. Never seen it from a Dark Elf."

"Thank you," they hummed, smiling a little shyly at the compliment -- and then breathing a sigh of relief as he immediately turned his attention to the next potential passengers.

"You handled that well," Lijuan laughed with more than a little affectionate sarcasm, "only the rest of the world to go~"

"Shush! He was just weird. Are all traveling humans like that?"

"Nah, just the weird rich types. I think there's something in credits that make you mad if you have too many."

There was a small laugh that followed; heavy with the slow realisation that this was likely the last conversation they'd share for a long, long time. The silence was thick with unspoken words; beginnings and endings that neither of them wanted to voice. The two shuffled on the spot, restless in the awkward quiet, neither daring to make eye contact for more than a second. This was really it: Ondela was saying goodbye to their home, their family, their city, and now their best friend.

It was Lijuan who broke the tension first, stepping forward to pull her friend into a tight, squeezing hug. "Don't forget me, okay? I want to hear all about your adventures -- you know how you can contact me, right? Whenever you can, you can talk to me and I'll be waiting."

"Thanks, Li. For everything." Ondela's voice shook, choked up despite their best efforts not to be, and they squeezed their friend a little harder, "I won't forget you, not for one second."

"You better not," Li murmured, nuzzling against them for a little longer before pulling back with a wobbly grin, "Now go! Explore the ship, get comfortable! You have an adventure to go on~"


	10. Chapter 10

The airship was hardly luxurious: there were chairs bolted into the ground in rows and booths, each sporting patched-together cushion covers and framing wooden tables Ondela wasn't certain wouldn't give them splinters if they weren't careful. There was a divider towards the back of the room, which on closer inspection blocked off a sleeping area with rickety bunk beds, and doors to bathrooms and a kitchen at the back. There were a few people milling about; mostly tired travelers who looked like they were all but ready to hibernate for the rest of the journey.

It was surprising to Ondela, however, that such a large quantity of the people were  _ elves _ . No Dark Elves, from what they could see, but there were a good many City Elves and even a couple of High Elves, all burdened with bags of their belongings. Dee tried carefully to avoid eye contact as they found a seat, shuffling into the nearest empty window seat and dumping their backpack on the table in an attempt to 'claim' the space. It didn't matter what was happening in the ship; just that they were going away. Far, far away, to start fresh and learn anew.

"Cool sunglasses." Ondela just barely managed to suppress a wince as the stranger sat opposite them, glad at the very least that they spoke English -- Dee's grasp of the Western tongue wasn't so good as their Mandarin, but they could get by with it. "Can I see?"

Hesitantly, Ondela removed their glasses, squinting as they handed them over and tried to watch the other examining them. She was a _Civin,_ or City Elf, Dee could tell that much -- mostly from her shorter stature and the sheer number of piercings adorning her brows and lip (not that Ondela themself was much better, with their bridge and lip piercing), but also because her ears were about half the length of any other elf they'd met.

"You make these yourself?" she wondered, and Dee nodded; quietly trying to figure out what her accent might be, "They're pretty neat. Glasses are easy to break though."

"We--  _ I _ don't have better," Ondela huffed.

"Not judging, just saying. 'We' though? You're a Dark Elf, right?" Handing the sunglasses back, she eyed Dee with a curious grin, "Don't get many of you on this ship. Definitely don't get many who can make tech like that." Waiting for the glasses to be back on their face, she offered the other a hand to shake, "I'm Sophie. Hopped on this ship in Sydney, haven't looked back."

"Ondela nii del Ora," they greeted carefully, smiling just a little in return. "I'm from here. Sydney is in Australia, right? That's a long way to go."

Sophie shrugged, brushing a braid of dark hair behind one decorated ear and shucking her backpack off, plopping it on the seat next to her. "I got bored. Been traveling for ages, just-.. looking for somewhere to settle. Haven't found it yet, but I'm sure I will."

"Was it hard?"

"Sometimes. Leaving everything behind was tough, but getting here not so much. Helps that I have money and stuff to trade, you know? But mostly I've just stuck to this ship; it stops pretty often so I get a chance to look around for a while before hopping back on."

The City Elf locked eyes with Ondela for a moment, and Dee was immediately hit by the intensity of it -- her eyes were a bright, glistening purple in harsh contrast to the deep bronze of her skin, and she clearly knew the captivating effect they had; a smirk growing on her lips as she watched the Dark Elf stare. "What about you? Didn't think Dark Elves liked to travel."

"We don't, usually. But I'm different." Quickly breaking eye contact, they opted to stare out of the window instead, watching the people pass by and the fairies flit to their working lives. "I'm going to help with the Uprising."

"Oh, yikes, good luck. I'm here to  _ avoid  _ the Uprising. Too much drama for me."

The conversation petered out there for a moment, picking up again only when a small group more people boarded, and things seemed to be whirring up to leave. They talked of their homes, their lives -- Sophie was the daughter of some magic-tech salesman who wanted her to help him sell his stuff, which was  _ fine  _ until he started picking and choosing who she could sell to and getting  _ way  _ too deep into the politics of the Uprising without wondering what  _ she  _ wanted, and-- if they were being honest, Ondela started to lose track around that point of what she was saying, but that was alright. It reminded them of Lijuan a little, so they listened and they smiled and they tried to understand what they could, and as the zeppelin began to rise above the buildings and the trees until the only company was clouds and fairies and the people in the cabin, they realised they were enjoying it already. Enjoying the company of strangers and the excitement of the unknown, and the whirr of the ship's engines under their feet and the clamour of conversation around them.

City turned to town turned to countryside; rivers and lakes and borders passing by in fleeting, picturesque moments between the haze of the clouds. The ground far below was decorated in flourishing emerald and autumn fire the likes of which Ondela had never seen before, and they watched with awe as the scenery slowly changed beneath them. From what they could garner, it would take a couple of days to reach Ukraine at the speeds the airship could reach. The original plan was apparently to stop off in Russia for a time, but the major cities had entirely closed off their borders following an infiltration of fae into the strictly human-only capital and everywhere else was too dangerous to stay in for any amount of time. So no Russia. But that was okay; Ondela didn't care where they were going so long as it was  _ different. _

It was day two that things started to drag. As lovely as it was to watch the scenery and talk with Sophie, there was only so long they could do that before they grew bored and conversation grew stale. Not to mention they had run into their first problem:  _ sleep.  _ Dark Elves were nocturnal by nature, and it was all well and good sleeping a little weirdly on a day with Lijuan, but keeping it up? The light and noise of the ship was too much to sleep in, but it still made them tired -- and the darkness that came when everyone was sleeping was telling them to stay awake. They'd managed to grab a few hours in the night, but it wasn't enough -- especially after the restless day they'd had preparing for this trip.

"Didn't sleep much, huh?" Sophie smiled as Ondela began to doze where they sat, offering a knowing chuckle as they snapped back awake and tried to shake it off. "Everyone gets like that on the first couple of days -- even when they're  _ not  _ nocturnal. You'll adjust eventually."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt." All eyes turned to the third figure as they approached the table, eyeing them each in turn with forest-green eyes through a floppy, autumn-orange fringe. "I was listening to you talk and I think-- you don't speak Ukranian, do you?"

"Nope. I usually get by though," Sophie hummed, and Ondela merely offered a shake of the head.

"I thought not. I just thought perhaps-- I speak it. I'm from Ukraine, going home after visiting a friend, so I could help you? Give you a tour and translate for you?"

"That would be nice--"

"Why?" Sophie interrupted, lifting a hand to still Ondela's words for a moment, "What do you get out of it?"

"Nothing, I just-- never mind. Sorry to disturb you."

Before either of them could speak again, the stranger had walked away; taking a lonely seat across the way from them both. Dee watched with a guilty lump in their throat, their heart squeezing just a little for the lone wanderer -- a _Dhamin;_ Wood Elf, from what they could tell. "Why did you talk to her like that? She wants to help."

"People don't usually just offer help without wanting something back. You have to be careful with strangers."

Ondela pressed their lips together tightly, doubt written all over their face. There were plenty of people who helped them without even thinking about a reward; why should this elf be any different? Stretching the cramps out of their shoulders, they defiantly got to their feet; walking over to the elf and sitting with her. "Some help would be lovely," they said, "Thank you."

"You're too trusting for your own good, you know that?" Sophie was reluctant as she followed after them, plopping down and offering the wood elf an apologetic smile, "Sorry."

"It's okay. Strangers can be frightening. I'm Nadezhda,." Her voice was soft and shy, perhaps a little hoarse, but there was a genuinely friendly lilt that Ondela couldn't help but smile at, “Nadi in short.”

"I'm Ondela nii del Ora, and this is Sophie. Most people call me Dee for short. You're _Dhamin_ , yes? But this..." Reaching out, they gently indicated the few small pieces of scrap on their jacket, "...this is what Scrappers wear."

"I was orphaned," she told them, "My mother died of sickness when I was small, and my father left me in the forest. I live in Kiev now, with new friends."

"That sucks," Sophie hummed, "At least you found somewhere though."

"Why would your father leave you like that?" Ondela huffed, incredulous at the thought of it.

"Never seen a deadbeat dad before?" Sophie joked, nudging them playfully.

" _Thin_ don't have fathers," they explained, still frowning deeply at the thought of such a thing, "or men. Just the women and the sexless."

"Lucky."

"My father could not deal with a child on his own, and he had no clan to help him. So when I was old enough to walk and speak, he left me to survive alone." Nadi shrugged as if it were nothing, trying to brush the mess of hair from her face before opting to just tie it back in pigtails. "It is not unusual."

"Maybe not for you, but for most of the world a dad wouldn't just leave his daughter to fend for herself," Sophie tutted, sympathy in her gaze despite the hostility she'd shown earlier.

"Well..." A rosy hue touched her tan cheeks, her gaze lowering to the table for a moment. "A-at the time I was not 'his daughter'. At least he did not know so. It is not uncommon for our boys to be left young -- though... perhaps not as young as I was."

"Still sucks," Sophie decided, shrugging, "Eh. At least you're somewhere good now, right?"

"Yes! I love my friends; they are more family than I could ever ask for."


End file.
